Sid Neigum Fall 2014: The designer takes fabric manipulation to new heights

by Jessica Flower March 18, 2014

See the Sid Neigum Fall 2014 collection »

When a string quartet playing smooth adagios greets you for a Sid Neigum fashion show, you would be forgiven for mistaking this as a sign for a softer, dare we say, even romantic, collection out of the hard-edged designer. And in a way, we were sort of right.

As soon as the lights went up however, the quartet took up a modern staccato piece, which jolted us back to Neigum’s sculptural reality for Fall 2014. The show moved through various colour schemes, each relying on the various fabrics used to generate movement and architectural shape.

One of Neigum’s greatest skills, geometric shaping took new life in dresses and jackets in the shape, or soon-to-be shape of flattened boxes ready for assembly made from ribbed synthetic fabric in riff on corrugated cardboard. Held together with metallic bars that evoked memories of brass paper fasteners from school years gone by, the pieces were almost Gehry-esque in their undulating folds and angular ends.

The softer, more malleable pieces in the collection still relied on structural tailoring and exact finishes, such as constructed draping and precise laser cut hems, continuing the focus on architectural yet wearable pieces. A liquid gold skirt was balanced out by a tightly pleated backless shrug of the same fabric, showing the full versatility of the fabric. On top, severe and rigid, on the bottom smooth and flowing. Neigum’s ability to manipulate and control fabric is truly something to behold and a skill he was able to flaunt to full effect in Monday’s show.